Park police protection

As more than 20,000 Phish fans poured into Saratoga Spa State Park Friday for the first of three concerts, members of the state’s park police union warned that budget cuts were gutting its force.

Since New York canceled annual academy training for park police recruits in 2008, the total number of officers and supervisors patrolling the state’s 178 parks and 35 historic sites has dwindled to 200 from 305, according to the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, which represents its rank-and-file officers. The New York State Park Police claimed 500 officers in 2003.

Retirements and resignations depleted the police force, and trained reinforcements aren’t replacing them due to the absence of academy classes the state cut to save money, state PBA leaders said when contacted Friday.

They spoke as ticket holders for Phish streamed into the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for three consecutive and nearly sold out shows. Police protection dedicated solely to the 10 parks in the Saratoga-Capital District region now consists of 12 officers and one sergeant, down from 16 officers and three sergeants in 2008, union members said. This weekend, they had to call in park officers from as far away as the Allegany park region to adequately staff SPAC, which is located in the state park.

“From Mauntak to Niagara Falls and everywhere in between, our members are spread thin,” said Dan De Federicis of Saratoga Springs, the executive director of the state PBA. Rotating park police reduces protection in other parks across the state, and “stripping other regions to cover a three-day concert is a concern for us,” he said.

The hiring freeze on state park police officers has brought staffing to dangerously low levels in state park locations that draw huge crowds, state PBA President Manuel Vilar said Friday. He recounted trying to patrol tens of thousands of persons with only a handful of police on beaches at state parks on Long Island. Vilar recently expressed his concerns to State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey.

“There is a desperate need to increase the number of permanent park police officers in order to maintain the level of service and patron safety rightfully expected by members of the public who pay to use our parks,” Vilar wrote in a letter. The state had planned to supplement its park force with part-time Park Forest Rangers that would have required far less training, but dropped that plan earlier this year, he said.

State Parks spokeswoman Wendy Gibson confirmed park police from other locations would work at SPAC for the Phish shows and target intoxication, drunk driving and disorderly conduct. She said the agency would review staffing levels, but would not say if the state intended to reinstate its training academy. Cutting the recruit course saved the state about $500,000, according to parks officials.

“The parks are safe,” Gibson said. “We had 57 million visitors this year.”

Park police are hired at the $40,000-a-year range and can reach a salary of about $60,000, De Federicis said. They’re hard to retain because many municipalities can afford to pay more, he said. Police staffing at state parks became such a concern this year, the PBA verbally requested State Parks to consider calling up the New York National Guard for assistance, De Federicis said.

Park police typically patrol the area of the park outside SPAC, while concert promoter Live Nation hires unarmed security guards to control crowds inside the amphitheater area. Guards employed by Live Nation cannot make arrests, and must call park police to respond to fights and other problems. State Police and Saratoga County Sheriff’s assist with traffic and emergencies.

SPAC attracted about 300,000 people to shows in 2011. Live Nation has scheduled 23 performances this year – up from 17 last year – and expects a big increase in ticket sales.

Concert crime at SPAC reached problematic proportions in 2009. That’s when state park police urged the venue to ban all alcohol, curtail attendances and allow them to use Tasers after nearly 100 concertgoers were arrested or ticketed at two packed Dave Matthews Band shows. Police arrested subjects on felony assault and sexual abuse charges.

County law enforcement officials say criminal arrests at SPAC and in the park are down this year. They credit enforcement of a “zero tolerance policy” toward alcohol in the park. State Department of Transportation investigators have ticketed a record number of underage persons this summer in SPAC’s beer garden for possessing fake identifications.

De Federicis said there is a correlation between the amount of officers and arrests made. PBA officers have maintained peace in the state’s parks despite sometimes working double shifts that require traveling, he said. “I’m concerned they are mandated to the point of being exhausted,” De Federicis said.

Live Nation manager John Huff said Friday that he didn’t expect any “real problems” at this weekend’s trio of shows. “The Phish audience is better behaved at SPAC because they love SPAC,” Huff said of the band from Vermont. “It’s kind of a hometown place for Phish.”

11 Responses

Very easy solution. Thestateworker unions have it set up so only public unions can do this work, with the benefits and retirements that go with the job. Open the project up to independent contractors and volunteers and situation will be resolved.

Why doesn’t the tu jst publish the truth and publish the damage these muni unions have created, not just here, but country wide?

Gov. has it right, this time.
For the other 99% of the year, it is kick back and drink coffee and eat donuts for the park police. It makes sense to move them around on an as-needed basis.
SPAC has security, the city pays OT for local cops, there are Troopers and Sheriffs all over the place.
Thank you for common sense, Gov. Cuomo.

Wow all of a sudden these park police guys wake up it must be summer again. All winter long they hide and do from very little to nothing. Come on guys if you need help just call for back-up from Saratoga Springs Police, Saratoga County Sheriff’s, State Police, Ballston Spa Police when things get out of control.

Thank you MM
So it means that the troopers know where to send the troops, because this band has a history of drug arrests, alcohol problems, ambulance calls etc.
So let’s do the same with Park Police. Let’s just have the taxpayers pay for full time park police and troopers to follow this band around the country. Does that make sense to the rest of you?

On the Police “food chain” the Park Police are the bottom feeders followed by EnCon Police. There was a time when the Park Police use to hire dozens of real cops from all the different local agencies as part time summer help. They were paid an hourly rate. There was no overtime. The part timers worked these concerts and at State Parks like Grafton and security was very much in hand. That practice was terminated after the cry babies in the Park Police union were mad that by filling voids with part time competent police officers they were missing out on O.T. Every once and awhile the Park Police actually have to do some work (Memorial Day -Labor Day) and that is when we hear the crying. This agency should have been disbanded years ago when they disbanded the Capital Police.

Despite all the advance ballyhooing, was pleasantly surprised the past two nights at SPAC that the policing and security was not “over the top” like it was in 2010
( http://phishnet.tumblr.com/day/2010/06/22 ).

Security and police were respectful to the fans that paid a lot of money to come to this overcrowded, antiquated venue, rather than treating them like prison inmates. The fenced in beer garden is gone (although a can of beer is still an overpriced ($10 – 12).

While the pavilion facade upgrade is nice, more speakers are needed on the lawn. There’s better sound at a lot of bars, and paying $65 for lawn seats with the fees and more for closer parking is lame. They really need to either improve the sound on the lawn or cut the capacity from 20,000 to a more reasonable number, like the 5,000 the pavilion seats or 10,000 for large concerts. Or cut Marcia White’s bloated salary for which she does what? Soon Phish will be playing more at SPAC than the Ballet.

You know, having been a Park Patrol officer many years ago and the president of the union for two terms, I really take offense to some of these comments above. I would like to have these morons to come out and do this job for awhile and find out what the Park Police have to put up with with one man patrols and sometimes no back-up within a reasonable distance. Easy for all of them to talk because they don’t have to be out at night by themselves.